Category Archives: babythings

Attachment Parenting International has developed a list of eight basic tenets of attachment parenting (AP). I really have to laugh because last week was the first time I had ever heard of Attachment Parenting International or became aware of any sort of ‘list’ to check off to see if one qualifies as practicing AP. It has been very interesting for me to read through it all, and more importantly, reflect on how I apply these principles in our family each day. It has been particularly interesting to reflect on how these principles have changed and developed in our family the past thirteen years as the babies have come “fast and furious” as Danielle says.

I am going to take each of the tenets and share my reflections on each one and how they have worked for us over the years. I think I will do this in a series of posts, starting with how we came to learn and live the AP lifestyle.

Part I: Our Introduction to Attachment Parenting

When Nicholas was born almost thirteen years ago, (yes, this mom of a bunch of littles is about to become the mom of a teenager!), I was clueless about parenting, let alone any style of parenting.

My preparation for birth amounted to the literature passed to me from my OB at the time, who was chosen for me by our insurance company. I followed every suggestion in the birth literature, I didn’t dare ask any questions. My quiet remarks about desiring a ‘natural birth’ we’re belittled with “It’s okay honey, you don’t have to do that, we’ll take care of you.” I often wouldn’t bother talking about my desires and concerns because I figured they wouldn’t be ‘allowed’ anyway. My first birth experience was terrifying and brutal. My first few months of motherhood were worse.

We brought Nicholas home to our tiny little apartment. We were newlyweds in a new city with the closest family two hours away and no friends. During the pregnancy we decided that I would leave the work force and be a stay at home mother. The decision was based more on finances than principle. Tony was a full time student and part time package sorter for UPS. My job as a cashier payed little more than minimum wage. We didn’t know anyone to babysit and daycare was financially out of the question.

The decision to breastfeed was also based finances rather than principle. Paying our rent each month was a struggle, how could we even think about adding the cost of baby formula to that? I was naive enough at that time to think it would be a piece of cake too.

Those first few months we parented exactly the way everyone was badgering us to. “Don’t hold the baby too much, you’ll spoil him.” “You have to teach him to sleep through all night long now or he never will.” (Now the problem is getting that strapping lad out of bed every morning!) We were miserable, Nicholas was miserable. We were so sleep deprived and stressed out. We couldn’t figure out why we couldn’t ‘get’ this parenting thing. It hurt our hearts to hear our newborn cry in his crib each night, but we were told that it was best for him in the long run. It killed me to hear him cry all day long because he wanted to be snuggled and nursed, but I was told I could only do that every four hours.

Then one afternoon, I sat on the couch to nurse him. It was a big production every four hours. He was often so exhausted from hunger and crying that it would take fifteen minutes or more to coax him to latch on properly. I was often so tired, sore, and irritable, I would fight feelings of resentment toward that little person that was keeping me up all night. But this particular afternoon, a small miracle occurred. Once I got him latched on, he nursed for a few minutes, and then – we fell asleep! We didn’t just doze off as we often did while nursing. We fell into a deep, relaxing, much needed slumber. Right there on the couch, together, for six full hours. I remember I woke up, looked at the clock and nearly panicked!! Oh, my! What have I done? I slept with my baby! I’ve ruined him for life, he’s going to grow into a spoiled brat! But…. He slept!! I slept!! We finally got some sleep!

That night we put him in the bed with us. We became ‘closet’ co-sleepers. The imperative word here being ‘sleepers’. This wasn’t based on any deep principle that baby needed mommy, we just wanted some sleep!

But it felt so right and natural. It felt like something fell into place. What I was feeling in my heart as a mother began to make more and more sense to me. It occurred to me that when he was crying throughout the day, he was not doing it to frazzle me, or because he hated me. (Yes, I often though he hated me and that was why he cried.) It was his way of telling me that he needed something. Someone. Me. His mother. He didn’t want to be held. He needed to be held. To hear my familiar heartbeat, to smell my familiar smell. He needed to nurse, not only for nutrition but for comfort. He didn’t need a fake soother in a fake swing. He needed the real thing, his mothers breast and the familiar way she moved. We began to recognize and respect that our baby had needs beyond the basic cleaning and feeding, needs that should not be dictated by a clock.

I bought a “Snuggli” baby carrier at the thrift shop and began strapping him to me throughout the day. He blissfully slept right between us at night. I would just sit and snuggle with him during the day, interacting with him while he was awake, holding him close while he slept. I would nurse him when ever I sensed he needed to nurse, not when the hour struck on the clock or when he had to work himself into a tizzy to tell me he needed to. My feelings of resentment began to dissipate. I no longer felt my baby hated me. Our family began to develop a sense of peace.

We did most of this in secret for awhile. I felt like I was breaking so many ‘rules’. I felt like a rebellious teenager! One day I was invited to a LLLI meeting by the wife of one of Tony’s coworkers. That first meeting changed everything. I met other mothers that didn’t hesitate to hike up their shirt and nurse their baby whenever and wherever he needed it. Many of these mothers slept peacefully at night with their baby right next to them. They held their babies in slings, soft ones without buckles even! Of course there were many things that still seemed very very weird to me. Like the mom nursing a toddler! Or the mom with a baby and two older siblings that slept in her bed at night, and the mom who used cloth diapers. Oh, and then, there was the mom with FOUR KIDS!! But I realized that what I was learning was natural and good. I realized that my baby wasn’t ruling our household or making demands on me. I realized that I was simply getting to know this little person intimately and helping him to grow and develop in a respectful and peaceful manner.

We are using a wrap made of hemp jersey. It is slightly stretchy, a bit like a sweatshirt.

Again, first you find the center:

This time you place the center at your belly button and open it up:

Bring one side around your back and over the opposite shoulder:

Do the same with the other side, crossing the wrap at your back. Try not to bunch it up or twist it or it will be uncomfortable once you place the baby in:

You’ll probably need to make a slight adjustment here to keep the wrap snug, pulling it up over each shoulder more and keeping the center against your body. You will have both ends of the wrap hanging over your shoulders. The center of the wrap will be around your waist, much like a cumberbund.

Gather up both ends of the wrap in one hand and with the other pull the ‘cumberbund’ slightly away from your body. Place the ends of the wrap through the ‘cumberbund’. The ends will then be the part of the wrap closest to your body, with the ‘cumberbund’ over them. Keep it all snug to your body.

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At this point you will cross the ends of the wrap at your front, keeping the ‘X’ just above your belly button. Bring them around to your back and tie it in a knot. I prefer to tie it just off to the side so it’s not in my way when I sit down. If the wrap is long enough, you can bring it back around to the front and tie it there. You NEVER want the ends of the wrap to hang down past your knees after it is tied, this would pose a tripping hazard.

Now you are ready to place the baby in the wrap. Pick up the baby and with one hand hold her (hey Gracie! 😉 ) high up on your shoulder. With your other hand pull the ‘X’ out and away from your body. This is where you will place the baby.

For a tiny baby, keep her legs tucked underneath her and and tuck her into the pouch created by the ‘X’ For a bigger baby like MB, you will put one leg in each ‘hole’ created by the ‘X’. Another option is to lay the baby sideways in a cradle position created when you spread the ‘X’ out. This is great for discreet, hands free nursing. (like when you need to push a shopping cart and such.)

You could consider yourself done at this point and go along on your way. But for extra security and support, pull the ‘cumberbund’ from underneath the baby and pull it up over top.

And here you have a truely secure hands free snuggle carry!

*If MB were to fall asleep here (which he did NOT, since it had been an entire 10 minutes since he last nursed and he was simply famished!) I would pull the wrap up and around his shoulders and over his head.

*Please remember when you are carrying a baby on the front of your body that is is not safe to cook over a hot stove. Chopping onions is not the best idea either! And be sure to watch baby’s head when closing rear van doors.

Here’s hoping I can help! I thought I could also do a YouTube recording of how I do this. We’ll start here though. This is my rendition of a back wrap cross carry. I don’t tie it around my waist. I’m using the ‘hip scoot’ method to put MB on my back, but this is not my preferred method. I think it is the easiest to explain. The wrap I’m using is a 5.6 meter Katja Didymos that I bought second hand years ago. I know that it has shrunk from it’s original size.

Out of vanity, I must ask you to excuse the dirty kitchen, funny looks on my face, and disheveled clothing! LOL!

So first you have to find the middle of the wrap. Some are marked with a tag or some other marking. The one I am using is not, so I simply grab it somewhere around the middle and hold it up and adjust till both ends are even:

Then you place the center of the wrap at the small of your back and wrap it around you like you would a bath towel, hold it between your knees:

Pick up baby and place him on your hip, slide him under your arm and onto you back (be sure to scoot him up high, you want his nose to touch your neck) :

Take the top of the wrap in each hand and spread it out wide, pull it up over baby, covering him from his shoulders to his knees:

Then you literally tie baby to you at the chest (over your breasts):

Then you bring the the right part of the wrap over top of your right shoulder, careful not to twist or bunch it, but keep it nice and snug. Bring it over top of baby and then under his left leg:

Do the same on the other side:

Now you should have the wrap snug and crossed under baby’s bottom and under your arms. Hold both ends in your hands in front of you, at this point you can give a little bounce and tug on the ends to snug it all up a bit. You want it to feel just on the verge of too tight as it will loosen up a tad with the weight of the baby and your movement. (Some say “10 minutes too tight”) :

Here is where you can either tie it snug around your waist or use the following variation. I do not like it tied around my waist for two reasons. One is that baby tends to slide down a bit that way and I am much more comfortable with baby high up. I like him to be able to look over my shoulder if he wants. And two, I just don’t like how it looks tied around my waist. 😉

The variation: Bring the left side of the wrap that is hanging down up and through where the wrap is tied at your chest, near your left armpit:

Then do the same on the right side:

You will then have the two ends up near your armpits, and through where you tied the wrap at your chest. Pull both ends snug and give a little hop if need be:

Bring both ends around and tie them under baby’s bottom:

TA-DA! Baby is snug and happy on your back, and no tails hanging down from the wrap. If baby falls asleep or is tiny with no head control you can have someone help you by laying his head with his cheek to your back, and pull one of the crosses over to keep it cozy up next to you! The way I have MB here, if he were to fall asleep he’d probably be fine because it’s tied high enough by his head.

This way your hands are free and baby is still close to you where he wants to be.

Now I can go clean up this dirty kitchen! LOL!

*A couple of notes: I usually keep my scapular out of the way instead of tied up in the wrap like it is here. I could also stand to tie the wrap back a bit neater so it’s not so bulky under my arms. Be sure to keep tabs on where your shirt is when you are tying baby on. 😉 And as with anything else when it comes to mothering, common sense and personal responsibility must prevail!

Over the next few days I may add a instructional video for this back carry and another tutorial for a rucksack.

Well, actually, I probably will not birth here. It will more likely be the livingroom floor where five of our children have already been born. I plan on using the birth pool and it is to large to set up in the bedroom. But I have been working diligently on preparing our bedroom, or ‘nest’ as I call it, for the baby’s arrival. This is where the two of us will spend our first week together. We will use this time to get to know one another, to read each others cues and to establish that blissful nursing relationship. I am very blessed to have so many around me that will tend to all of our needs during this time. I plan to walk no further than the bathroom down the hall. Here is a tour of our nest!

This is the view from the door. The cradle is a safe place for baby to lay when I do have to make that trip down the hall!

A cozy place to rock with Our Lady of Pepetual Help watching over us.

A place to rest our heads

Our dresser filled with mama’s pajamas and tiny baby clothes! Dh and I made the belly cast over the weekend. The girls and I decorated it with a Mary Cassatt print, a poem titled “Treasure” and hand painted flowers. I have a beautiful St. Benedict medal to apply to it also. A statue and print of Our Lady of La Leche watch over us from this wall.

This area is prepared with freshly washed baby diapers, rosaries on the wall. (But who needs a rosary when there are perfect little baby toes to count Hail Mary’s on!!) We also have some herbal tinctures ready for various post partum issues, and a bottle of “Happy Mama” spray to lift our mood a bit.

That’s the tour of our “Birthing Suite”, awaiting the arrival of our “Guest of Honor”! 🙂

Votive Prayer for Family

Father,
We look to Your loving guidance and order
as the pattern of all family life.
By following the example of the holy family
of your Son in mutual love and respect,
may we come to the joy of our home in heaven.